Bargaining

ARTICLES ABOUT BARGAINING BY DATE - PAGE 5

Rummage sales can be a bit like speed dating: You dash from prospect to prospect, making instant decisions about whether there's a potential love connection. In the heat of the moment, impulse reigns, opportunities are missed, sparks fly. But the thrill of the find is what it's all about. No wonder then that the spring rummage sale at the First Presbyterian Church of Moorestown celebrates its 95th year on Wednesday. Since Woodrow Wilson was president, this annual event - such an occasion that people have altered vacation plans to attend - demands the sweat equity of more than 50 volunteers for a one night/one morning sale that attracts more than 600 hard-core hunters and gatherers.

Driving a scantily veiled race car is indelible business. I'll never forget my time behind the wheel of the fabled Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, a 617-horsepower two-seater that topped out around 200 miles an hour and listed for $452,500. More recently, I spent a week with another thinly disguised track denizen, the 2012 Chevrolet Corvette ZO6, a 505-horsepower two-seater that also runs out to about 200 miles an hour but lists for a bargain-basement $75,525. Granted, the Z06 is not as sophisticated and classy as the impeccable SLR was. But like its supercharged, 638-horse stablemate, the Corvette ZR1 ($111,600)

Three dishes at each of three restaurants in three hours for $39? That's Dishcrawl. An import from the West Coast, Dishcrawl invites the hungry hip to come out as singles or in couples for an evening getting to know one another and one of their neighborhoods through that powerful communications tool we call food. Philadelphia's inaugural Dishcrawl, Jan. 24 in Northern Liberties, brought out 60 foodies who descended first on Cantina Dos Segundos, 931 N. Second St., for quesadillas (chicken or cheese)

With the 2012 London Games rapidly approaching - the opening ceremony is July 27- many travelers are wondering how to have the most affordable Olympic experience possible. A number of free and low-cost options are available for visitors. Live locations: Live coverage of Olympic events will be provided on large, outdoor screens in more than 20 urban locations throughout the United Kingdom, including Edinburgh, Liverpool, Manchester, Bristol, and others. Sports fans looking to combine a bit of tourism with their Olympic visit will be able to keep tabs on the games while exploring a bit of history at the same time.

Shoppers flocked to stores Monday to spend their gift cards, snap up deals at early-morning sales, and eat at some of their favorite restaurants. With Christmas falling on a Sunday, Monday was a holiday, but to many people, that was a technicality. "The mall is absolutely packed. We opened early, at 7 a.m., and we've been busy all day," Ashlyn Delson, marketing director for Willow Grove Park mall, said Monday. Some retailers offered one-day-only bargains or specialty items to lure shoppers.

WASHINGTON - Congressional negotiators reached agreement Thursday on a compromise spending bill to avert a weekend federal shutdown. They also worked toward a deal renewing the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits for another year but prepared a shorter version as a fallback in case talks fell short. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) told reporters he was still optimistic that bipartisan talks on yearlong extensions of the Social Security payroll tax cut and unemployment coverage would succeed.

Overnight shoppers were still prowling around in pajamas when Diane Blasek-Kehoe arrived at King of Prussia mall about 10 a.m. But where she planted herself first - the cookware department at J.C. Penney - said a lot about the forces that coaxed retailers to open earlier than ever, and shoppers to venture out at midnight for extreme Black Friday sales. She and others in one of the store's longer checkout lines were not holding designer-brand appliances. They instead held boxes labeled COOKS and JCP, low-cost brands owned and heavily promoted by J.C. Penney itself and, therefore, cheaper than brand-name competition.

IT IS OCT. 1, the final Saturday of Major League Baseball's regular season. The Phillies and Astros both clinched wild-card spots earlier in the week and are now destined for a one-game playoff in 4 days. But with two games remaining, the site of that playoff game depends on what happens today and tomorrow. The Astros' rotation calls for aces Roger Clemens and Roy Oswalt to close out the regular season, while the Phillies have their two most productive starters ready to go. Houston leads by one game in the standings, which means today and tomorrow will decide which team hosts the playoff.

NEW YORK - The NBA delivered a new, revised proposal to the National Basketball Players Association on Thursday night. After more than 20 hours of negotiating over two days, the union has decided to "step away" from the bargaining process and take the revised proposal to its 30 player representatives for consideration. NBA commissioner David Stern explained that the league "doesn't expect [the union] to like every aspect of our proposal" but said this proposal would have the owners' approval.

WASHINGTON - Union leaders said yesterday that their success in striking down an Ohio law curbing collective-bargaining rights for public workers points to an energized labor movement that could be pivotal in helping Democrats win battleground states in next year's election. "What happened in Ohio last night matters everywhere," said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. "I think the governors in the other states ought to take heed of this, and if they don't, they do so at their own peril.